Cover Image: Dreamland

Dreamland

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Member Reviews

Colby, a twenty-five year old helps his family on the farm. For a much needed break, he takes a quick trip to St. Pete Beach, Florida. While visiting he sings and plays the guitar at a local beach bar. While there, Colby meets Morgan. He is immediately drawn to her personality and they begin to hang out during the day on the beach. Morgan and her friends are up and coming dance stars on social media.

Beverly is a young mother who is trying to run and escape abuse from her husband. She takes her son Tommie and they flee from their hometown. After getting far enough away from home, they rent a house and begin to establish a new life. Tommie tries to make friends at his new school. Beverly begins to fix up the new rental house with the supplies that she finds on the porch. She tries to make a normal life but is constantly paranoid that someone will find them.

Sparks has written two intricate stories that weave into one by the end of the book. The author did a great job of character development throughout the book. The reader will enjoy getting to know the characters. By the end of the book, the reader will understand the weaving of the two story lines and how they make a wonderful tapestry of one larger story.

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Got approved for this title twice, just writing this to not mess up my score but it was a fantastic novel, one of my new favorites from this author.

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I'm a huge Nicholas Sparks fan and was so excited to receive an ARC of "Dreamland." This book is typical Nicholas Sparks (in the best way!). I really liked how this book wasn't just about romantic love, but also domestic love. I enjoyed all of the characters and how real their emotions felt. I don't want to give too much away, but I was very happy with how the story came together. If you love Nicholas Sparks or romantic (not spicy!) novels, this one is for you!

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#nicholassparks #dreamland #netgalley I always love a good Sparks romance novel. Something to cuddle up with a just feel good love. We have two narrators in this story. Colby && Beverly. I loved Colby’s story. Beverly’s story took me a while before I understood where we were going and what her point was ….. until I did and the story was woven together. It just took forever for it to “make sense” - for me. The ending though made up for that. #bookstagram #bookreview #readersofinstagram

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I liked the premise of the book and the way it started out, but found near the end that Nicholas Sparks may not be my cup of tea. I've read a few of his previous books with mixed emotion about the endings. I feel like the story didn't really show about subjects (BP and being asian american) well enough for me to relate to those characters...but I think the message about mental illness worked out fine. It wasn't the writing so much as the pace of the story for me. If you're looking for a romance book that keeps things behind closed doors and simple, you may enjoy Dreamland. 2 of 5 stars.

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I love Nicholas Sparks and Dreamland is another great read by him. Colby Mills dreamed of a musical career, but things happened. He is now the head of a small family farm in North Carolina, but he takes a gig playing at a bar in St. Pete Beach, Florida to have a vacation and to play music again. He meets Morgan Lee and is instantly infatuated with her. Her dreams include moving to Nashville to become a star. While they are falling in love, Beverly is on a very different journey. Fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, she is trying to piece together a life for them in a small town. With money running out and danger seemingly around every corner, she makes a decision that will change everything she knows to be true.

In the course of a single week, two young people will fall in love and hundreds of miles away, Beverly will put her love for her young son to the test. But things are not what they seem to be and dreams can be changed in the blink of an eye. I loved this book.

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This was an interesting read. Two completely different story lines and it's unclear how they connect. Each one was good on its own and kept me guessing on how the characters' stories would intersect. Interesting twist. I didn't guess it until it was revealed but then a lot of other things early on made sense. As with all of his books, this one is emotional and pulls at the heart strings.

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DREAMLAND is such an emotional story and it absolutely shredded my heart! Nicholas Sparks speaks to my heart with each and every novel he has written and DREAMLAND is no exception. What a beautiful story of second chances, love, guilt and fate. Colby is a farmer who is also an awesome singer, but due to family obligations, his musical ambitions have to take a backseat. After awhile he decides to take a quick vacation down to Florida where he is playing in a bar. Florida is where he gets noticed by Morgan Lee, who Colby feels is totally out of his league. Hold on tight readers! This such an inspirational story!

During the last few chapters of DREAMLAND I had full blown tears. So let me warn you, have tissues ready and not just one or two! While Colby and Morgan are spending more time together and the reader thinks everything is wonderful between them, there is another story taking place. It is the tale of Beverly and her son who are on the run from her abusive husband. While their story never connects with Colby and Morgan’s until the end, when it does you won’t believe how! That’s all I can say because I want you to be blown away with this as I was. Nicholas Sparks does a great job of capturing my emotions and pulling hard on my heart strings as he always does! This heart warming novel had me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put the book down until the very last page!

DREAMLAND will surely pull at your heart strings and make it very hard for you to put down. If you are like me, you won’t be able to stop until you know what happens to Morgan and Colby. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea get your favorite blanket and get on the couch. DREAMLAND is an awesome way to spend the afternoon or evening. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down and will find yourself cheering for Colby and Morgan as they try to navigate their way through a very different and unique situation. Nicholas Sparks will pull you in from the very first page and never let you go! How a man can write such emotional and heart tugging contemporary romance is beyond me, but I have loved all of his books and he is forever one of my auto buy authors!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks is an intriguing novel. The characters are interesting, especially Beverly. Try differing points of view made the story interesting but seemed completely unlinked, until they were linked. Overall, it’s a good story that was well plotted. I’m just not sure that the ending was the satisfying conclusion I was looking for after reading all the way through. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

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3.5 stars for me. I haven’t met a Nicholas Sparks book that I haven’t liked. That said, this wasn’t my absolute favorite. I didn’t love Colby, but this is still a great, classic Nicholas Sparks book!

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100% did not see the twist coming. Still turning this one over in my mind. Loved the book, absolutely couldn't put it down. I love when I look forward to reading a particular book at the end of the day and this one absolutely was that. I"m still not completely sure how I felt about the ending, but overall 99% of the book I loved.

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Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks.
Dreamland is an emotional story written in dual point-of-view, that seamlessly brings both stories together in a riveting conclusion. Two separate seeming stories each written to connect the reader and keep you engaged. It isn't until the end that the stories overlap, leaving the reader fulfilled. My first Nicholas Sparks novel that did not disappoint.

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I generally enjoy a Nicholas Sparks novel, but this one is not of the same quality as his others, and I would not recommend it to someone who has never read any of his novels. It's just simply not a good representation of the rest of his works.

I thought the novel started off strong and I really enjoyed Beverley's POV more than Colby's POV. There was a lull in the middle of the book (slow burn) and then it got better towards the end with a little plot twist that will answer some of the reader's questions about how the two POVs are connected to each other.

Colby and Morgan's whirlwind relationship just did not seem realistic or genuine to me. I was not invested in their story and I could not imagine a future for them.

This book needed something more--maybe a little steam or just more relatable characters. While this novel was not my favorite, I will continue to read future novels by this author.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I like many of Nicholas Sparks' novels but this newest one didn't work for me. I really wanted to love it - I love the inclusion of music and songwriting - but the dual storyline irritated me - partly because it took way too long, in my opinion, to show any connection to each other - it was frustrating to me. Sparks' characters are usually so well developed - I did not see or feel that in Dreamland - I didn't feel a connection to them or really care how their lives turn out. I gave it 3 stars because, hey, it's Nicholas Sparks but I wanted something deeper with more emotional connection.

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I absolutely loved the dual perspective, the two stories were amazingly descriptive and had you wondering how these characters and stories were going to come together. Sparks keeps you guessing right up until the last section that was told in Colby's perspective it was late and I kept on reading because I had to know! I did at one point see the twist but I was unsure how all the things lined up, but when Sparks explains it and everything gets revealed so seamlessly it really worked well for the narrative.

The first perspective is Colby a young farmer that has travelled to Florida for a break on the farm to go back to his first love of being a musician. On the trip he mets Morgan, who he feels a connection to right away. On his vacation the two grow close together, the vacation is nearing an end when tragedy happens at the farm and Colby leaves unexpectedly.

Then we meet Beverly, a young mother fleeing an abusive relationship, starting a while new life with her young son. I felt extremely connected to Beverly as some of her experiences paralleled my own life.

If you are a fan of a love story, finding yourself, family bonds, a dual prespective that is both mysterious and suspenseful then you definitely should pick up Dreamland.

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I was expecting to fall in love with this but it didn’t do it for me like I thought it would. I really love dual POV but I only liked one of these POVs.. Beverly’s story is easily a page turner, I was intrigued from the start to the end of her story. Colby on the other hand, I really wasn’t a fan of his story. I honestly think it was just Morgan though.. wasn’t a fan of her at all. She made their story kind of boring and uninteresting for me. I was wicked tempted to skip Colby’s parts but knew they were eventually going to tie in with Beverly’s. I love St. Petersburg and I love the Dalí Museum! There is SO much to do there!!

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This book is told in two protagonist voices. We first meet Colby who is on a somewhat work vacation singing in Florida at a bar for a few weeks. He meets Morgan she has just graduated from college and is doing one last hurrah with her friends before they all go off living their individual lives. Neither Colby nor Morgan imagine that in such a short time they have known each other they would be falling in love. The other Protagonist Beverly has plot out the perfect escape plan from her abusive husband and has seem to settle in her new home with her son Tommie but yet she still feels like eyes are watching her and she begins to wonder if and when her husband will find her. As the synopsis dictate all three characters life will meet together. I know as I was reading i begin playing detective in my mind trying to decipher how that would be. I want to say while reading some clues the characters were saying i start to imagine what it could be and proud to say i was not to far off but not quite. As with Mr. Sparks work as a reader you cannot go wrong reading any book of his. Review on Goodreads and amazon.

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Colby Mills has been head of the family farm since tragedy struck and his music dreams were set aside. When he accepts a gig at a bar in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida, he meets Morgan Lee and wonders if his dreams of a career in music are still possible. Beverly’s journey couldn’t be more different. On the run with her young son from her abusive husband, Beverly finds a safety in a small town off the beaten path. But with danger at every turn and money running out, Beverly will be forced to make a choice that could change everything.

𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: I hate to say it but I was very disappointed in this one. I haven’t read a Nicholas Sparks book in a while and I’ve missed the past couple new releases so my hopes were very high. The romance really fell flat for me and the chapters about Colby and Morgan moved a lot slower than I would have liked. I felt more drawn to Beverly’s chapters and enjoyed the faster pace. The one thing that really bothered me though was how Colby wouldn’t stop making comments on Morgan’s size. Like he couldn’t believe she was that skinny and still eating cookies. I’ve had comments like that made to me over the course of my life and it just really rubbed me the wrong way. On a more positive note, the way the two storylines converged in the end was so well done and I really didn’t see it coming! Thank you to the author and publisher for my gifted e-ARC copy.

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Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks is appropriately named as the novel centers around 2 individuals with dreams and aspirations. The novel has two separate story lines focusing on the main characters of Colby and Beverly. Beverly is leaving an abusive relationship with her young son, Tommy. Beverly was more than willing to stay in the marriage for the sake of Tommy, until mysterious bruises began to appear on him. Beverly leaves, but continues to look around every corner in fear that she will be discovered. The other point of view is that of Colby, a farmer and musician. We see Colby as he is performing in Florida, taking a vacation from his farming, and he meets a woman, Morgan. Morgan is also a musician, but she has a more privileged past. Nevertheless, Morgan and Colby begin to develop a relationship. How do these 2 stories intersect? You will find how the stories of Beverly and Colby intersect. This book was interesting, heart warming, and one of my favorites. I highly recommend this book and any book by Nicholas Sparks. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

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I have been a fan of Nicholas Sparks since book one. I had to take a break away because some of the stories broke my heart. They were too much. Thanks to Net Galley and this opportunity to get back into what I love about they way this author tells a story. Grips you from chapter one and leaves you hoping and wishing for a Happy Ever After. This book is no different. The writing is beautiful, the story is heartfelt. I was looking for available rooms at The Cesar as soon as I finished this book. I loved this story.

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